Vegan Confetti Cake

5 years ago today, I started this blog called It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken with my very first (embarrassingly bad) post Simply the Best Tomato Sauce. (Apparently, I was overconfident from day 1)!

Way back then I had no idea that starting this blog would lead me to a complete career change leaving my job as art director to becoming a self-employed full-time blogger. Winning a competition and getting to film a cooking show with Food Network’s celebrity Chef Michael Smith. Writing my first cookbook Fuss-Free Vegan which now has over 150 5-star reviews on Amazon! And appearing on TV, radio, in magazines, on podcasts, and doing public speaking.

It all happened very slowly and gradually, with a lot of very hard work, but when reflecting on the years, it seems like a whirlwind of delicious vegan recipes, 1 million dishwasher loads, over 15,000 comments, almost 500 recipes (with several thousand failed recipe attempts), and a smile every morning as I open my computer to start the day. So, I’m celebrating today, my blogs birthday with a Vegan Confetti Cake!

Not only is it my blogs birthday but it also happens to be pride month, which makes this rainbow coloured cake even more celebratory! Celebrating the love of everyone.

Now to cake. Vegan Confetti Cake is a vanilla cake filled with sprinkles because… CUTE! When first writing this recipe I tried to use my Vegan Vanilla Cake recipe and just stirred in sprinkles. This didn’t work too well. The cake was too fluffy and fell apart, and the sprinkles bled into a mess. So I did a lot of experimenting making this vanilla cake a little more dense (in a good way) to lock in those sprinkles, but still keeping it moist and fluffy by folding aquafaba into the batter.

The vegan confetti cake comes out perfectly sweet, incredibly moist, hard to resist delicious, and the dots of colour throughout the cake are just to die for adorable fun. Vegan confetti cake makes for a great birthday party cake or any celebratory occasion. I chose rainbow sprinkles, but you could alternatively choose all one colour of sprinkle, maybe for a gender reveal cake, or any colour combo you like… galaxy cake? The options and fun are endless!

To make Vegan Confetti Cake: in a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt. Now add the non-dairy milk, light oil, and vanilla extract and stir to combine. It will make for a very thick batter, almost like cookie dough.

In another large bowl, use a stand mixer or hand beater to combine the aquafaba and cream of tartar until it forms stiff peaks. This will take about 3 to 6 minutes.

Now fold the aquafaba into the batter. The batter is thick and it will take a bit of time to combine the two, so be patient. When the batter is combined you can lastly add the sprinkles. Depending on the kind of sprinkles you have they may bleed, so working quickly, scatter the sprinkles over the surface of the batter and then quickly give it 2 to 4 stirs to combine. It’s ok if the sprinkles aren’t mixed in perfectly, they will do their thing in the oven, it’s more important that they don’t bleed.

A note on sprinkles. Not all sprinkles are vegan. They can sometimes include the ingredients confectioner’s glaze or shellac, neither of which are vegan as they both come from insects. I found sprinkles at a bulk food store that were accidentally vegan, but you can also order vegan sprinkles online on Amazon, on Etsy, from Sweetapolita, or from Fancy Sprinkles, to name a few place.

Divide the batter evenly among the two pans. Bake for 35 to 42 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

To make vegan vanilla frosting: In a large bowl, use a stand mixer or hand beater to mix together the vegan butter, vegetable shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until fluffy. Add 1 – 4 tablespoons of non-dairy milk as needed to reach desired frosting consistency.

Decorate cakes as desired. I covered the sides of my cake with sprinkles. I did this by placing the cake on a large baking tray (to catch any loose sprinkles), then grabbing handfuls of sprinkles, I lightly pressed them into the frosting on the sides of the cake working my way around and filling in any gaps until it was all covered.

A delicious vanilla cake with sprinkles stirred into the batter to make spots of bright color throughout. Perfect for a vegan birthday cake! Deliciously moist and sweet, this rainbow cake is perfect for a birthday party.

Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease two 8" baking pans and line the bottoms of the pans with a circle of parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt. Now add the non-dairy milk, light oil, and vanilla extract and stir to combine. It will make for a very thick batter, almost like cookie dough.

In another large bowl, use a stand mixer or hand beater to combine the aquafaba and cream of tartar until it forms stiff peaks. This will take about 3 to 6 minutes.

Now fold the aquafaba into the batter. The batter is thick and it will take a bit of time to combine the two, so be patient. When the batter is combined you can lastly add the sprinkles. Depending on the kind of sprinkles you have they may bleed, so working quickly, scatter the sprinkles over the surface of the batter and then quickly give it 2 to 4 stirs to combine. It’s ok if the sprinkles aren’t mixed in perfectly, they will do their thing in the oven, it’s more important that they don’t bleed.

Divide the batter evenly among the two pans. Bake for 35 to 42 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

To make the vegan vanilla frosting:

In a large bowl, use a stand mixer or hand beater to mix together the vegan butter, vegetable shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until fluffy. Add 1 - 4 tablespoons of non-dairy milk as needed to reach desired frosting consistency.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Thank you for this amazing and simple recipe! It’s now my go-to for birthdays, special occasions and mid week treats – everybody loves it! I’ve pretty much abandoned putting sprinkles in the batter and just make it as a banging vanilla sponge. Most recently I made the buttercream with orange oil rather than vanilla and it worked a treat 🙂

Ok, so I’m doing this cake right now and the batter wasn’t cookie dough as you mentioned. I’m wondering if the Aquafina needs to be measured as a liquid or as a foam. I just got the 2/3 liquid straight from the can and after it was nice and fluffy poured the whole thing in my batter. Now I’m wondering if I did it wrong.

HI Michelle, the aquafaba should be measured as a liquid, you did it correctly. The dough will be thick like cookie dough before you fold in the aquafaba. Once folded it in will be much lighter and fluffier. Hope that helps!

Hi Katie, so glad you’re excited! I have not made cupcakes with this recipe yet. It would work just fine, the oven temperature would be the same, the baking time will just be a little less. I would keep an eye on them around the 18 minute mark and when they start looking cooked, test them by poking them with a toothpick. When the toothpick comes out clean they will be done. Enjoy!

Hi, I came across.this recipe yesterday and made a trial one which everyone loved. I have a severe egg allergy so I have no idea what cake usually tastes like, and my son’s birthday tomorrow so am going to bake him a cake and finally get involved with that part of the celebrations. Thank you so much for the recipe – looking forward to trying out your other recipes

That’s so wonderful, Kelly! I’m thrilled you get to enjoy the celebrations. As a former egg eater, I can assure you that this cake tastes just like any egg-based cake, you would never know the difference. If you want a fun experiment try my vegan toast dipping sauce recipe which tastes just like an egg yolk!!

I tried this recipe twice and followed the recipe exactly and both times came out flat and dense. I was hoping for the fluffiness that everyone described. I even went out and got new baking powder. I’m so sad :(. Any ideas on what went wrong?

Hi Kay, it’s difficult to know without being in the kitchen with you. Overmixing the batter can cause cakes to not rise. Or oven temperatures can often be wrong which could cause the cake to not rise, it’s always a good idea to pick up an oven thermometer to be sure. I hope that helps a little!

Thanks! It turned out SO cute everyone loved it. I did strawberry filling between the 4 layers and the frosting from this recipe on the outside with a blue tint and lots of sprinkles ❤️ the cake was DELICIOUS! thanks again!!

I’m going to make this today for a new years cake I think I’m gonna add some blue food coloring to the frosting and use sparkler candles, and maybe make it a 3 or 4 layer cake. Can’t wait I already know it will be fabulous.

Hi Sam! I am hoping to make a dairy-free funfetti cake for a friend’s birthday soon, and your recipe is just what I was looking for! Do you think the recipe would still work out if I added a little bit of strawberry puree for a fun flavor and a slight pink color? Or should I stay on the safe side and stick to the original recipe? Thanks!

So happy you found it, Elise! I would recommend sticking on the safe side and following the recipe as written. BUT I think it would be lovely to do a strawberry puree between the layers of the cake. Yum! Enjoy!

I made this cake for a friend’s birthday. I had never made icing before. I used my neighbours kitchen to make this because she used to be a baker and I know she has all the tools! It turned out fab even though the sprinkles bled. The cake was moist and fluffy, i doubled the vanilla on the icing, and it turned out great! Now I’m thinking about buying a mixer!

Awesome!! SO happy you enjoyed it so much, Andy. For the sprinkles, they will bleed which is why you just have to give it one or two very quick stirs to mix them in. You could also try a different type of sprinkle like a confetti sprinkle which won’t bleed. Hope that helps!

Hi, I would class myself as a quite experienced baker, but I never tried a vegan one. I tried this receipt today and followed the instruction, but it’s just not right. The taste is lovely , but the texture is all wrong. It seems very claggy. What have I done wrong. Heeeelp!!!!

This recipe is SO good! I made this today for my 20th birthday get together, and it was a huge hit with my family. They were all skeptical with it being a vegan cake (I’m the only vegan they all know), but were super impressed. I’m definitely going to be making this again. Maybe in cakepop form too. 😀

I’m planning on making this for a birthday party very soon! Love, love aquafaba!! I was wondering if you had used 3/4 cup of reduced aquafaba or just straight from the can? If you used straight from the can, do you think reduced would work as well?

The yellow-ish tint you are experiencing would come from the vegan butter and/or non-dairy milk you are using. (Assuming you are using white powdered sugar and white vegetable shortening). So perhaps your vegan butter is quite yellow? My go-to is Earth Balance.

Hi Sam! I’m making this for my daughter’s 2nd birthday and I accidentally put the aquafaba and the cream of tartar in with dried ingredients! What kind of mistake did I just make? Is it worth continuing or should I start over? Thank you!

There are no eggs in this recipe so you are good to go! My blog is vegan, so there are never any eggs in my recipes, you can make any recipe you like from my blog without the worry of replacing eggs. Enjoy!

Made this into 24 cupcakes for my daughter’s 5th birthday. 17 minutes baking time was perfect! The cupcakes were a hit. Super moist and delicious. And the best part is there are cupcakes left over for me to enjoy after the littles go to bed! Thanks Sam for creating the perfect cake recipe to help us celebrate our daughter’s birthday. As soon as she saw this on your website, she knew this was the cake she wanted.

ahh! funfetti is my favorite type of cake, and the texture of this cake looks perfect. cannot wait to try this recipe! i just had a birthday, so i think it’s still acceptable for me to celebrate, right!? happy belated blogaversary! thanks for all you do!

Hey Sam… Happy 5th birthday to IDTLC. I’ve been following for almost that long. I remember “the ex”, I remember you quitting your job to do this full time. I remember you doing the 100 ingredients/100 recipes. Gosh, feel like I’ve grown up with you (despite me being old enough to be your vegan babysitter!). You are a virtual part of our family. You only need one name around here (“Sam”… kinda like Cher, Madonna, Britney… only much better!). Anyway, my daughter wants this cake for her 5th birthday party (July 14) – how fitting… she’s been vegan as long as IDTLC! She wants cupcakes. How long do you think I would cook cupcakes for?

Awww you have been with me forever! So long that I know your real name and I remember meeting you in person! Thank you so much for being such a huge supporter of the blog (and me!), and happy birthday to your daughter! When converting a cake recipe to cupcakes the oven temperature stays the reduce the baking time by one-third to one-half. So keep an eye on them after about 17 minutes. They will be done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. a 2 layer cake will make about 24 cupcakes. I hope your daughter (and you) love them!! 😀

Thank you, Sam! One thing I absolutely LOVE about you and your blog is that you really do your best to respond to all the comments. Super personal. And whenever there’s a slightly controversial comment, you respond with such love and compassion (not attacking). Anyway, I’ll update when I make this recipe. Six 5-year old girls on Saturday… wish me luck… If you don’t hear from me ever again, They WON (I didn’t survive)! 😛

I never understood people who don’t respond to comments. Isn’t it “social” media? Haha. If someone takes the time to leave a comment I will take time to respond. I wish you luck! Keep extra sprinkles in your pocket and you can throw them to distract the kids and escape!

This cake looks awesome! I want to surprise a friend for her birthday. What’s the trick to getting the sprinkles on the sides of the cake?! lol I think I’ll be making a mess for sure…love your recipes! Thank you 🙂

What a lovely surprise that would be!! To get the sprinkles on the side, I put my cake in the center of a large baking sheet (to catch the sprinkles) and then I just took handfuls of sprinkles and pressed them into the frosting on the sides of the cake. Repeating and turning the cake as needed until all sides are covered. Enjoy!

Hey girl! Did you know that regular sugar isn’t vegan(big gulp, I know). They mix it with bone char when they process it. Better to buy/use coconut, maple or yacon root sugar. I haven’t used white sugar in years now but realize I’ve probably ingested the bone char when I’ve treated myself to the vegan bakeries around town. I also found out that brown and powdered sugar are made from the white processed sugar so they have the bone in there too. : / Bummer, huh. Hope this is helpful to anyone who didn’t know.

Hi B, actually, a lot of brands of white sugar are totally vegan. Using bone char to refine sugar isn’t very common anywhere other than the US as far as I know, but I do check the sugar I buy to make sure. The standard brand I use here in Canada is Redpath and they say on their site that the sugar is indeed vegan-friendly. So you just want to check the brand you’re purchasing. A helpful tip is that all organic sugar is always vegan-friendly. Hope that helps!

Aw Sam! Whadaya wanna be when you grow up? You should open a vegan bakery. I know I’ll find the perfect occasion to make this cake. Can’t wait.

Congratulations on your 5th anniversary. (I’ve been following several years myself, about the time of the trip with the ex, schnook-of-a-boyfriend.) Anyway, I wish you many more years of blogging. You have so many backbone recipes,

Haha! I did want to open a bakery when I was a kid now that I think about it… I was more into baking breads at that time, however. Yes, you have been with me for a long time, Bethery! I can see that you have commented 92 times on my blog!!! So amazing. I really appreciate your support, it’s what makes it all possible. 🙂

Sam, you’re the best! Happy birthday to IDTLC!! I definitely plan on making this. In fact, the first all vegan food I ever made was your Heart of Palm Calamari. Question: after I ate it, the grease hurt my tummy a little. Is there an alternative? I feel like I maybe cooked it wrong.

Ironically, just yesterday my hubby planted the “let’s make cake” seed in my brain. Headed straight to your book and now I have a couple of frosting-related questions for you. 1. What do you suggest for non-hydrogenated shortening? I see Spectrum and Nutiva in a web search but I’ve never tried either. 2. We use Melt spread (similar to Earth Balance but yummier) from a tub. Do I need to use vegan butter in stick form for successful (and edible) frosting? I tried Earth Balance sticks for cookies in the past and it was like plastic, ick.

Thank you so much, Karen! I used to use Earth Balance non-hydrogenated shortening, but I believe that was discontinued. So I have been using regular shortening. If you want to opt for non-hydrogenated I am sure either of those brands will work great. I’ve never worked with Melt, so I am not sure what it’s like, but I use Earth Balance in the tub (not the sticks), for all my baking needs. Hope that helps!

Let me know how these work! I’ve been on the hunt for a non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening for ages! I work in a small Health Food Store (where we carry Sam’s book 🙂 and haven’t found a supplier that we can get Nutiva or Spectrum shortening from! The whole thing is really bizarre! I miss Earth Balance!

Yayyyy!!! What a great accomplishment and perfect celebratory cake for the occasion. We love you in our family and refer to all of your recipes as if we know you personally…for example, my husband will say “is this Sam’s?” when I make something from your book or blog. We all love how personal you’ve made each recipe and your whole journey. Our young daughter is a huge fan and helps me cook all the time. Thanks for these 5 years and cheers to MANY MANY MORE!!

Happy 5th!!! I think the appropriate vegan 5th anniversary gift is 5 lbs of golden flax meal!!! Celebrate! Funfetti Cake – how I yearned for one when I was a kid, but – nope, my mom always made her white cake with a whipped-cream icing. It was good, though! What I like is that you have given a festive cake recipe to families to make their celebrations really, well, ..Fun! I hope to make it for birthday “girls & boys”(I’ll be in a Senior Apt bldg, 62 and above!), when I move into my new home this year – I want to be “Birthday Cake Lady”, and this is perfect!

Congratulations on your anniversary, Sam! And what a pretty cake to celebrate with! Looking forward to making it. Your vegan vanilla cake (which I used for your tiramisu). was delicious, so I’m confident this will be, too. Two questions: Does the aquafaba have to come from chickpeas canned in only water (no salt or preservatives)? And as I live in the GTA, I’m wondering if you found the vegan sprinkles at Bulk Barn.

Thank you so much, Ali! Aquafaba can come from any old can of chickpeas, so no stress there. Yes, I did get the sprinkles at Bulk Barn. I had to ask to see the ingredients when I told them it was because I didn’t want insects in my sprinkles, they tried to sell me cricket bars?? Haha. I also noticed that Cake Mate sprinkles here in Canada are accidentally vegan, but I do not believe they are vegan in the US, recipes for brands are often different when crossing the boarder.

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I'm Sam, welcome to my blog! Here you'll find my favourite fuss-free vegan recipes. You might be surprised to hear that the moment I decided I was going to go vegan, I was completely and utterly bummed about it. Here's my story →

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